Show Me Your Moves
Have I mentioned how I hate pussyfooting around? Oh, good. Then it'll come as no surprise to anyone, least of all my sister when she watches the replay (chuckles), I could practically hear her exasperated groan as I prowled (sounds way sexier than pussyfooting) my way behind the Yautja. Unsurprisingly, the Bad Blood sensed my approach. I doubted he could see or even hear me, but the subtlest shift of his shoulder blades said he knew I was practically right on top of him.
The Kandari, however, were too excited by the astronomically rare opportunity to capture a live Yautja, a gift-wrapped one no less, and never even paused in their mind-numbingly high-pitched squabble when I stopped right in front of them. Sure I had the advantage of the cloak, and I'd stayed downwind, but this was just sad. The Kandari have poor hearing (probably due to their sassy-girl shrieky voices), and while my suit conceals my body heat I wasn't completely buttoned up, so they should've detected the minute traces with the loreal pits in their square stubby snouts. Not to mention the Kandari also have excellent chemical receptors in the roofs of their mouths and honestly should've been able to taste me a mile away. In a way, I was kind of offended. I taste awesome! And anyone who's ever had the pleasure of taking a bite outta me will attest to that!
Damn. Sometimes it's a curse to be this good.
And just as the mental fist bump crossed my mind, the Kandari snapped to attention as one and stared at the space behind the Yautja.
Dropping the cloak, because really I should give them a fair chance to at least try and kill me, I stooped behind the Yautja. His head tilted back, opaque opti-shields hollow yet somehow hateful. "Sooo-" Startled and enraged, the Kandari finally reacted. I knocked away a bang-spear, the charged blade singing as I deflected the strike with my left forearm. The cybernetic appendage absorbed the shock and stored it. When the spear came at me again, I grabbed it and held it captive with ease as the ugly lizard hissed and tried to yank it back. "Cha," I snorted. Still holding the spear, I leaned forward into the trapped hunter's space. "So are you white all over?"
Low guttural hostility curled in his throat, and I could visibly see the control it took for him not to go for my throat. The flowers at the ends of the vines had completely blossomed, one wrong move and he'd be fertilizer.
Laughing, I jerked the Kandari forward by his spear, yanking him off his feet, and returned the power of his bang-spear with a little extra incentive not to fuck with me. The woody snap of ribs breaking brought a pleased smile to my face before the force sent the lizard flying.
Hissing and spitting venom, the other four attacked as one. I leapt in front of the Bad Blood hoping my gut wasn't wrong about him. The fluid metallic scales of my armor flowed over the remaining exposed parts of my neck and arms. Protected by my suit, the venom was burned off by waves of kinetic energy. Breathable and lightweight, the jet black armor fit me like a second skin, and bonus, it made me OP as shit.
"Hey, Rice Ball!" I grabbed a lizard mid-lunge and threw him over my shoulder. If the Yautja said anything I couldn't hear it amidst the screeching and hissing of the frenzied Kandari, but I felt his attention on my back all the same. "Tell me-" One of the lizards lept onto my back and started clawing at my bio mask. I threw him off with a heated snarl. "-are you a dishonorable fuck like the rest of your lot?!" Somehow I managed to meet the hollows of his mask from over my shoulder. "Because if you are, I'll kill you regardless!"
"No... death before dissshonor."
He didn't even hesitate. And the gravity of his words struck me. The memory of a distant past when I almost lost a father for the second time. Osh'ikeille, one of my sister's two mates' who had a hand in raising me, had said the very same thing to her when Cetanu sought to take him during a battle for Earth.
Third time...
Rage stole over me like the black plague at the reminder.
Six months... six months of this shit and still nothing!
I shook it off. Or tried too. Kind of hard to shake the anger when the entire reason I was on this miserable fucking planet was to look for clues, only to have my ship blown up by the asshole I was saving!
"Oi! Rice Ball!" I dodged the lethal whip tail of a lizard. What the Kandari lacked in physical strength they made up for in persistence. And they were really, really, fucking persistent. 'Course the exception to their strength was their tails. One true blow from that appendage and it was all over. "So here's the secret! If you want the plant to let you go then you're gonna have to pee on it!"
I dunno why I decided to trust him. Could've been the blatant honesty in his steel-edged voice. Or it could've been the fact that no actual Bad Blood would've bothered to learn another language since their only goal was to kill and conquer. What I did know was that the string of profanities that he spewed forth after hearing my advice was like sweet nothings to my ears and inconceivably left my heart feeling lighter than it had in months.
"I can pee on it for ya?" The mischievous sing-songy lilt to my words must've given me away because more sweet nothings followed until I was roaring with laughter. Hey, I said I trusted him I didn't say I wouldn't fuck with his head.
I built a charge in my shoulder and rammed into two of the lizards desperately trying to skewer me. It knocked them back by several feet, giving me a free second to whistle for my friend. "Now, Jinx!"
"Ny!" Jinx sprang out of the clot-red shrubbery. The Bad Blood snarled as she used his dome like a springboard, and vaulted onto the closest Kandarian. Quick as a xeno, she bounced from lizard to lizard, planting a tiny HORNET charge on each of them before coming to perch on my shoulder. "Ny! Ny! Ny!"
The comp built into my cybernetic arm woke up as I turned my wrist over, a cute little hornet symbol blinking in the corner. I gave the nearest lizard a smug smile he couldn't see and tapped the icon. The overload charge chained through each HORNET, knocking out their lights permanently. Cold? Maybe. But why show mercy where there is none. The Kandari are slave traders, so I didn't feel an ounce of sympathy as I walked away.
I crouched behind the Bad Blood. With a warning growl in his throat, he tilted his head to see what I was up to. "Chill," I snorted and closed my cybernetic hand over the blossom aiming its pithing barb at the exposed column of his neck. A black stripe bleeding into dark red then burning to orange before fading into the white of his skin peeked out from under the vine here, and I briefly wondered if he was from one the ancient clans like my adopted siblings. The fluid scales protecting my right hand receded and my bare fingers ghosted over the markings. His growl darkened, and I grabbed the vine at his shoulders. Touchy, bastard. Then again most Yautja are... unless they're mated. And that's a whole different beast to contend with. "So for future reference," I retrieved a small vile from my shoulder rig, "never come to Tassix 9 without honey. It's like a drug to these things."
The amber liquid sluggishly dripped into the open blossom, and the reaction was almost instant. The great vines shuddered and relaxed reminding me of my own euphoric release after being deep throated by that Kayzar last week. Lucky plant. Lux! No, wait... Stix? Damn, he was a good lay! What the hell was his name?!
I shouldn't have lingered, but I was too damn fascinated by the V-shaped bands running the length of his spine. The "fuck me" I uttered barely passed my lips as the Yautja spun and seized my throat. I'd sensed his intention but didn't have his speed to react in time. The vines rolled off of him like satisfied fat kittens after a saucer of milk, and he rose up out of the pit all the while keeping me aloft one-handed.
I grabbed his forearm. Jinx stood up on my shoulder and hissed. Her silvery scales bristling in the same manner as fur.
Weird. Nina didn't find the pee joke funny either.
The black frost of my face shield melted away. And the hollows in his mask did the same. We stared at one another. I didn't think I was wrong. The hard blood orange orbs boring into me were scrutinizing, not challenging as if he had no idea what to do next. In short, the Yautja are kind of egotistical megalomaniacs. Translation he was butthurt that I'd saved his bacon. A human no less and that had to sting. He wouldn't kill me, but the desire to was threatening to cut off my air. 'Course if I challenged him or became a threat then all bets were off.
I widened my eyes innocently. He narrowed his.
Damn. Why does that only work when women do it?
I dropped the puppy act, but not his gaze. Daring to play the game my sister incessantly warned me against playing. There's a delicate balance between blatantly challenging a Yautja's honor or simply letting said Yautja know you respect him. A line I've learned to tred very very well. "You owe me."
An answering growl reverberated in his chest, it traveled down his arm and vibrated my bones. He flexed his strength giving me the impression he wanted to make it perfectly clear he could kill me. Slowly my heals eventually joined my toes on the ground. He didn't release me right away, holding on a bit longer than necessary to get the point across.
I stretched out an arm, and his growl deepened at the movement. A talon pressed into my jugular vein, and I rolled my eyes. Paranoid fucker.
"Dude," I held up a hand placatingly. "Calm your tits." Taking care not to startle the twitchy fuck again, I stretched up on the balls of my feet and casually plucked the HORNET charge from his bio mask then silently laughed at the bemused tilt of his head when I held it up for him to see. He cast a dark glower at Jinx. Unaffected by his scorn, Jinx continued to hiss at the Yautja who had yet to release me.
An earth-shaking bellow carried on the back of the wind over the empty crimson moors brought all our heads up. The mournful noise was joined by another from the opposite direction. Then another.
"Ah, great," I moaned.
Thought it was weird that there were only four of 'em.
I met the Bad Blood's gaze, "They brought Reav Trolls."
In the distance, the rest of the pack converged on us. The hand at my throat disappeared, and the hunter and I shared one of those looks were no words are needed. The enemy of my enemy and all that. Without thought, we found ourselves back to back as if we'd shared blood and sweat several lifetimes together. Instinct at its most primal forging a trust between us I've never known beyond my own sister and fathers'. It was... natural.
The blade of his shoulder grazed the back of my head, and I couldn't help but think how sad it was that my own brother would never stand next to me in battle the way the Bad Blood was right now.
"Oi, Rice Ball."
He grunted in response, neither of us taking our eyes off the advancing pack of Kandari and their pets.
Mercy, my sling sword, unfolded with a flick of my wrist. "Show me your moves."
The heavy thrum of his laughter had me grinning, my pulse slamming in an echo of his excitement.
"Trrry to keep up, ooman."
I laughed and god it felt good...
A/N: Holy shiiit! XD The response for this story has got me psyched! You guys keep loving it, and I'll keep writing it! Thanx, everyone! To save space, I'm going to "attempt" to keep responses short. Also, it should be noted I won't reveal story details no matter how pretty you ask ;D
V!: Thanx, Besty! Such a relief that I pulled off adult Danny :D
guadadominguez4: Aw-shucks *blushes* Thanx! You're awesome too!
TigrisRawr: Lol! Thanx, girl! Hehe I'm glad you're diggin' Danny's bad boy tude ;D
Haylz93: And I'm excited that you're excited! Seriously pumped here XD Lol, I'll reveal a bit more about their first encounter later ;)
thefightingbull: Eeee! I'm so pleased you're following this story too! Thank you so much for the love :)
Guest: Thanks, avid reader! Haha! :D
angel897: Hi, angel! I'm so happy you like the start of Danny's story :D Thanx!
Mariah: Thanx for reading. :)
Tenfangirl: Lol, right?! Hehe perhaps even a bit more of a devil now ;D Thanx lovely!
Valconwing: Awe! You're so sweet! I heart your review! *smiling with pride* :)
Camui-Alexa: Thank you! I'm really trying to give this story my all! Lol, I give nothing away ;D I promise eventually all your questions will be answered as the story progresses. Even the ones in the previous story :) Oh! And congrats on the new job!
Guest 2: Haha! I'm pleased you like how Danny turned out as an adult. As for the Bad Blood, you'll find out as the story goes on ;D Thanx!
sousie: Lol, I know she would XD She'd probably laugh herself sick if she knew! Thanx, sousie!
Xx15PinstripesxX: Lol, no prob! So happy you like adult Danny! Thanx for the love! :D
Andrea: Awe, thank you! Your review had me smiling big time :D
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